Category: NHL

Sharks Win 2024 NHL Draft Lottery With Chance to Select Macklin Celebrini
7 May 24 Jimm Sallivan

Sharks Win 2024 NHL Draft Lottery With Chance to Select Macklin Celebrini

The 2024 NHL draft lottery was held Tuesday night, though it came without many surprises. In fact, this year's draft is the first since 2010 in which the picks went unchanged through the lottery process, according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet.

As such, it'll be the San Jose Sharks on the clock first. After a rough season that saw the Sharks finish at the bottom of the league with a record of 19–54–5, they'll have the chance to pick atop this year's draft, where it's widely anticipated that they'll select Boston University standout Macklin Celebrini.

Celebrini, 17, won't turn 18 until just a couple of weeks before the draft in June. This past year at BU, he became the youngest player ever to win the Hoby Baker Award, which recognizes college hockey's top talent. He racked up 64 points—32 goals and 32 assists—across 38 games, and now could be headed to San Jose as the franchise looks to add a game-changing talent to help facilitate the rebuild.

Rounding out the top five after the Sharks in the 2024 draft will be the Chicago Blackhawks, Anaheim Ducks, Columbus Blue Jackets and Montreal Canadiens. The upstart Utah franchise is poised to pick sixth.

Anaheim Ducks, Chicago Blackhawks, Columbus Blue Jackets, Macklin Celebrini, Montreal Canadiens, NHL, NHL Draft, San Jose Sharks
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NHL Playoff Schedule: Full Rundown for Conference Semifinals
7 May 24 Jimm Sallivan

NHL Playoff Schedule: Full Rundown for Conference Semifinals

There is nothing better than playoff hockey, as the saying goes, and the first round of the 2024 NHL playoffs proved it true once more. An electric grouping of matchups gave the fans a thrilling start to the postseason and things are only bound to get better as the second round pits heavyweight against heavyweight in both conferences.

Here is the full schedule for the second round of the 2024 NHL playoffs, organized by series. The time and major broadcast are noted where applicable.

Eastern Conference Playoff Schedule

(1A) Florida Panthers v. (2A) Boston Bruins

  • Game 2: Bruins at Panthers, Wednesday, May 8, 7:30 p.m. ET (ESPN)
  • Game 3: Panthers at Bruins, Friday, May 10, 7 p.m. ET (TNT)
  • Game 4: Panthers at Bruins, Sunday, May 12, 6:30 p.m. ET (TBS)
  • Game 5 (if necessary): Bruins at Panthers -- Tuesday, May 14, TBD
  • Game 6 (if necessary): Panthers at Bruins -- Friday, May 17, TBD
  • Game 7 (if necessary): Bruins at Panthers -- Sunday, May 19, TBD

(1M) New York Rangers v. (2M) Carolina Panthers

  • Game 2: Hurricanes at Rangers, Tuesday, May 7, 7 p.m. ET (ESPN)
  • Game 3: Rangers at Hurricanes, Thursday, May 9, 7 p.m. ET (TNT)
  • Game 4: Rangers at Hurricanes, Saturday, May 11, 7 p.m. ET (TNT)
  • Game 5 (if necessary): Hurricanes at Rangers, Monday, May 13, TBD
  • Game 6 (if necessary): Rangers at Hurricanes, Thursday, May 16, TBD
  • Game 7 (if necessary): Hurricanes at Rangers, Saturday, May 18, TBD

Western Conference Playoff Schedule

(1C) Dallas Stars v. (3C) Colorado Avalanche

  • Game 1: Avalanche at Stars, Tuesday, May 7, 9:30 p.m. ET (ESPN)
  • Game 2: Avalanche at Stars, Thursday, May 9, 9:30 p.m. ET (TNT)
  • Game 3: Stars at Avalanche, Saturday, May 11, 10 p.m. ET (TNT)
  • Game 4: Stars at Avalanche, Monday, May 13, TBD (ESPN)
  • Game 5 (if necessary): Avalanche at Stars, Wednesday, May 15, TBD (TBD)
  • Game 6 (if necessary): Stars at Avalanche, Friday, May 17, TBD (TBD)
  • Game 7 (if necessary): Avalanche at Stars, Sunday, May 19, TBD (TBD)

(1P) Vancouver Canucks v. (2P) Edmonton Oilers

  • Game 1: Oilers at Canucks, Wednesday, May 8, 10 p.m. ET (ESPN)
  • Game 2: Oilers at Canucks, Friday, May 10, 10 p.m. ET (TNT)
  • Game 3: Canucks at Oilers, Sunday, May 12, 9:30 p.m. ET (TBS)
  • Game 4: Canucks at Oilers, Tuesday, May 14, TBD (ESPN)
  • Game 5 (if necessary): Oilers at Canucks, Thursday, May 16, TBD (TBD)
  • Game 6 (if necessary): Canucks at Oilers, Saturday, May 18, TBD (TBD)
  • Game 7 (if necessary): Oilers at Canucks, Monday, May 20, TBD (TBD)

Key Dates for the 2024 NHL Playoffs

The above dates are all of varying levels of importance but there are still several to come on the hockey calendar. However, unlike the NBA, the NHL does not have listed start dates for the Conference Finals or the NHL Finals. The schedule for the Conference Finals will be determined once the matchups are set, and the same goes for the Finals itself.

For reference, last year's Conference Finals round kicked off on May 18 and 19. The NHL Finals began on June 3. Given the pace of the 2024 playoffs it seems reasonable to expect a similar starting date for the final two rounds.

First Round Results

Here you'll find the results from the first round of this year's NHL postseason play.

Eastern Conference

  • (D1) Florida Panthers def. (WC1) Tampa Bay Lightning, 4-1
  • (D2) Boston Bruins def. (D3) Toronto Maple Leafs, 4-3
  • (D1) New York Rangers def. (WC2) Washington Capitals, 4-0
  • (D2) Carolina Hurricanes def. (D3) New York Islanders

Western Conference

  • (D1) Dallas Stars def. (WC2) Vegas Golden Knights, 4-3
  • (D3) Colorado Avalanche def. (D2) Winnipeg Jets, 4-1
  • (D1) Vancouver Canucks def. (WC1) Nashville Predators, 4-2
  • (D2) Edmonton Oilers def. (D3) Los Angeles Kings, 4-1

And there's everything you need to be ready for the second round of the NHL playoffs. Enjoy!

2024 NHL Playoffs, Hockey, NHL
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Jets Coach Rick Bowness Announces His Retirement After Nearly Four Decades Behind the Bench
6 May 24 Jimm Sallivan

Jets Coach Rick Bowness Announces His Retirement After Nearly Four Decades Behind the Bench

One of the longest-serving coaches in NHL history is calling it a career after nearly 40 years behind the bench.

Winnipeg Jets coach Rick Bowness announced Monday that he is retiring after 38 years as an NHL coach.

Bowness, 69, played in the NHL for parts of six seasons and got his start coaching as a player-coach with the Sherbrooke Jets, Winnipeg’s AHL affiliate at the time, in 1982. After retiring as a player in ’84, he joined the Jets’ NHL coaching staff as an assistant.

Bowness served as a coach for a total of 2,726 NHL games, the most in the history of the league. Most of those games came as an assistant coach, but he did serve as a head coach for 803 games for seven different franchises.

This season was Bowness’s most successful as a head coach. He led the Jets to 52 wins, tying a franchise record for most victories in a season. They finished with 110 points, the second-most in the Western Conference. On Friday Bowness was named one of three finalists for the Jack Adams Award, which goes to the top coach in the NHL.

The Jets’ season ended when they lost in the first round of the playoffs against the Colorado Avalanche in five games.

NHL, rick bowness, Winnipeg Jets
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Bruins Show Footage of Sad Fans in Maple Leaf Square on Jumbotron After Game 7 Win
5 May 24 Jimm Sallivan

Bruins Show Footage of Sad Fans in Maple Leaf Square on Jumbotron After Game 7 Win

You would think the Boston Bruins' dominance on the ice against the Toronto Maple Leafs would be enough.

After all, the Bruins' 2–1 overtime victory Saturday evening in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup playoffs' first round polished off their seventh straight postseason series win over the Maple Leafs. Toronto hasn't beaten Boston in a playoff series since 1959—eight years before its most recent Stanley Cup title.

However, the Bruins took matters a step further after right wing David Pastrňák's winner. As Boston celebrated its triumph on the ice, the operators of TD Garden's Jumbotron gleefully showed footage of a defeated Maple Leaf Square.

Maple Leaf Square, as the name implies, sits adjacent to Scotiabank Arena and is a popular rallying point for Toronto sports fans (basketball-savvy readers may know it as Jurassic Park).

Given the imbalance between Boston and Toronto's sports success this century, it seems fair to ask: haven't the latter's citizens suffered enough?

Boston Bruins, NHL, Toronto Maple Leafs
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Maple Leafs Fall to Bruins in Overtime to Extend Infamous Game 7 Losing Streak
5 May 24 Jimm Sallivan

Maple Leafs Fall to Bruins in Overtime to Extend Infamous Game 7 Losing Streak

In 2019, SI's S.L. Price christened the Toronto Maple Leafs' plight "one of the world’s last great championship droughts."

That sentiment will hold true for another year.

The Maple Leafs lost 2–1 in overtime Saturday to the Boston Bruins in Game 7 of the two teams' first round series, ensuring that Toronto will remain Stanley Cup-less as it has every year since 1967.

More immediately, in extended the Maple Leafs' infamous streak of Game 7 losses to six—four of which have come to the Bruins in 2013, '18, '19 and now '24.

All four of those losses came in Boston.

Boston right wing David Pastrňák netted the winner at 1:54 of the overtime to send the Bruins to the second round, where they will meet the Florida Panthers. The goal came after a wild sequence where Toronto nearly won the game late in regulation.

The Maple Leafs' last triumph in a Game 7 came against the Ottawa Senators in the conference quarterfinals on April 20, 2004.

Boston Bruins, NHL, Toronto Maple Leafs
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Mark Stone's Wife Poses With Jersey Referencing Golden Knights Star's Roster Status
30 Apr 24 Jimm Sallivan

Mark Stone’s Wife Poses With Jersey Referencing Golden Knights Star’s Roster Status

Much has been made of the salary cap loophole the Vegas Golden Knights have notoriously taken advantage of over the past few seasons, particularly to do with the injury designation of star forward Mark Stone.

Stone has, rather conveniently, been placed on the league's long term injury reserve list in February or March during each of the last three seasons. That designation enables the Golden Knights to take on more salary at the trade deadline without going over the cap, much to the chagrin of NHL fans.

During Monday's game against the Dallas Stars, Stone's wife Hayley posed for a photo with a Golden Knights fan who was wearing a custom jersey referencing Stone's frequent trips to the LTIR.

The fan wore one of Vegas's Winter Classic sweaters, with Stone's No. 61 on the back, but instead of the right winger's name, it instead said, "LTIR."

While NHL fans have been vocal about their disdain for the salary cap maneuvers from Vegas, Hayley took the opportunity to have a laugh over the situation.

In each of the past three years, Stone has returned from LTIR just in time for the Golden Knights' opening round playoff series. This year, against the Stars, he even scored the first goal of the series, a fitting feat in his return to the ice.

Golden Knights, Mark Stone, NHL
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Coyotes Attempted to Short-Change Hotels on Bills Late in Arizona Tenure, per Report
30 Apr 24 Jimm Sallivan

Coyotes Attempted to Short-Change Hotels on Bills Late in Arizona Tenure, per Report

The Arizona Coyotes are currently history, having suspended operations on April 18 as the NHL transferred their assets to a new team in Utah.

In the midst of this new reality, the postmortems of the Coyotes' dysfunctional tenure are just beginning. During their 28-year stay in the desert, Arizona advanced past the first round of the playoffs just once—making the Western Conference finals in 2012.

However, the team was renowned for its dysfunction behind the scenes, a dynamic explored at length in a Tuesday morning report from ESPN's Emily Kaplan and Greg Wyshynski.

In the report, Kaplan and Wyshynski suggested the perennially cash-strapped Coyotes attempted to short-change businesses on various bills.

"Multiple sources told ESPN that the Coyotes were either late paying their hotel bills or sometimes just crossed out the total and paid a different amount," Kaplan and Wyshynski wrote. "Other sources indicated local businesses would come to the team seeking payments, would be offered a fraction of what was owed and then would be negotiated down to take less than what was actually owed."

"Having been in business for 40 years, you wouldn't be around if you didn't pay your bills. That's all I want to say about that," owner Alex Meruelo told ESPN, declining further comment.

Regardless of the outcome of the Coyotes' current limbo, it appears both the Utah franchise and a potentially reactivated Arizona franchise could benefit from a fresh start.

Arizona Coyotes, NHL, Utah NHL team
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Kraken Stars Threatened to Refuse to Play for Dave Hakstol Again, per Report
30 Apr 24 Jimm Sallivan

Kraken Stars Threatened to Refuse to Play for Dave Hakstol Again, per Report

Dave Hakstol is the only coach the Seattle Kraken has ever known, but his tenure is reportedly ending in explosive fashion.

According to a Monday report from ESPN's Emily Kaplan, Hakstol was fired after several Kraken voiced their displeasure with him in exit interviews with the organization.

"(General manager) Ron Francis did not want to make this move," Kaplan said before the Florida Panthers' 6-1 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 5 of their first-round series Monday. "I was told at the exit meetings, a handful of players—pretty significant players—made it clear to management, 'I don't want to play on this team in the future if Dave Hakstol is the coach.'"

Hakstol's dismissal came less than a calendar year after Seattle made a surprise run to the second round of the playoffs, upsetting the Colorado Avalanche in seven games in the first round before losing to the Dallas Stars in seven games.

The Kraken went 34-35-13 this season, finishing fifth in the Pacific Division.

Dave Hakstol, NHL, Seattle Kraken
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